Ch.19Chapter 4. Restraint (4)

I first carried the girl with the broken ribs downstairs to the first floor.

The girl who had been quite rebellious at first froze when she saw all the combatants gathered on the first floor.

She seemed to have realized that her life was in our hands here.

Not that I actually intended to kill her.

The team leader stopped moving in surprise when he saw me bringing this girl.

“……”

He had been wary of me until just moments ago, but now he seemed to understand that something strange was happening.

We stared at each other silently before I shrugged my shoulders first.

The team leader pointed at the girl with the broken ribs, then opened his palm and raised it.

I shrugged again.

From this exchange, it seemed the team leader didn’t know either.

Since I couldn’t see his expression, I couldn’t be sure if he was acting or not. Let’s assume he didn’t know. If things went wrong, I wouldn’t be the only one to suffer anyway.

After a moment of silence, we nodded to each other.

The team leader pointed at me and then gestured with his thumb behind him, telling me to follow him.

Then he pointed at the Earthaboo, another combatant, and the girl.

He wanted them to guard her.

It was a bit funny watching the girl’s eyes follow our finger movements.

That’s how we divided into teams.

Some combatants would watch the lady of the house in front of her room on the first floor. These combatants would also keep an eye on the housekeeper. If she suddenly appeared like the daughter had, they would quickly subdue her, tie her up, and toss her aside.

We could have tied her up from the beginning, but it was best to eliminate possibilities from the start.

We also selected combatants to guard the girl.

She could still make noise through her gag, so we decided to keep some distance. Fortunately, the only mansion with a view of this estate was the one we had first driven into.

After dividing into teams, the rest of us decided to enter the underground facility.

Thankfully, the team leader had found the entrance to the basement.

It wasn’t hidden in a particularly difficult place. At first glance, it looked like a boiler room, but there was an area covered with plywood on the inner floor.

It might have seemed carelessly hidden, but considering how few people would come this far, it was probably sufficient.

They probably never expected us to go to these lengths.

…

Thinking about it now made me a bit scared.

This was a crime, wasn’t it? Even if the government turned a blind eye, we had restrained a minor. Anyone who thought this wouldn’t be a problem was the one with issues.

…88 percent.

The circuit maintained that level probably because of such thoughts.

Let’s finish this quickly, whatever the outcome.

After removing the plywood, I understood why the team leader had called me.

The entrance was… in the form of a safe.

It had a dial in the center that would open when turned to the correct numbers. Anyone who didn’t know better might think it was just a personal safe.

Around the safe entrance were some scorched marks and partially melted areas. A used grenade was rolling nearby.

So they couldn’t open it. That’s why they needed my help.

There were other combatants wearing similar combat suits in other teams, but right here, I was the only one.

I don’t understand why.

Could this operation be related to me?

That thought briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly shook it away.

Focus. I want to finish this unpleasant business as quickly as possible and get out of here.

I’d rather have a magical girl show up now. Then I’d have an excuse to run away.

But with my power maintaining at 88 percent, I had enough to break through this safe.

If they couldn’t win even with equipment like this, how strong were magical girls?

Sighing deeply, I entered the safe.

Unlike the dusty, somewhat messy boiler room, the inside was quite clean.

Well, it was a laboratory after all.

It reminded me of that zombie game series. They probably weren’t researching zombies, but something similar to the Hope Circuit.

I took out the grenade-shaped equipment I had brought and pulled the pin.

I rolled the slightly smoking cylinder, but there were no lasers here.

Perhaps because it was a research facility. People who entered here needed to move around freely.

The team leader entered behind me and patted my back.

He pointed in the opposite direction from where I was looking.

What expression might be behind that helmet?

Displeasure at having to bring me along? Resignation? Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t pleasant.

And I was glad about that. With our helmets, we couldn’t see each other’s faces, so there was no reason to fight.

We divided the combatants into two groups and began our search.

*

The secret facility built into the house wasn’t as spacious as I had expected.

They couldn’t dig into the neighboring building, and they couldn’t just tunnel downward in the middle of Seoul without thinking.

So it was two stories high and about the same width as the mansion above.

We found the researcher quite easily.

“Mmph!”

I tied him up just like the daughter upstairs and carried him on my shoulder.

He didn’t struggle much. He seemed to realize the situation was dire.

A high school girl carrying an adult man on her shoulder. I suppose it wouldn’t look that strange to others since they wouldn’t see it that way.

When we reached the door we had used to enter, I heard footsteps running toward us from the opposite direction.

There were two researchers on that side.

The team leader, who seemed to be smiling triumphantly behind his helmet, was pointing upward with a very confident gesture when—

BANG!

A loud noise came from above.

“……”

We all froze, looking up.

No one had entered the boiler room yet, but—

“Urgh!”

…we heard the distinctive distorted voice coming from a combatant’s helmet.

We looked back at each other.

“Damn it,” the team leader muttered.

I felt exactly the same way.

*

I had expected this to happen. Although this wasn’t an incident I’d seen in the original story, magical girls almost always appeared wherever we operated.

I suppose that’s natural since they substitute for the Galactic Federation’s combatants.

“You guys.”

After climbing up to the building, we found a red-haired girl standing confidently.

Below was the still-tied girl. She was looking at Rose as if wondering why she hadn’t been untied, but I kind of understood. Having hostages running around would only get in the way.

…Next to her stood a girl with a purple ponytail.

Were the others still on their way?

“Did you think you could maintain a secret facility like this without regular reporting?” said Happy Rose, the red-haired magical girl, treating us like idiots.

Nearby, combatants were lying on the ground.

Beep beep beep!

Fear washed over me, and I heard a sound from my helmet.

91 percent.

Could I handle this? Would I be able to?

Iris’s attacks hurt, but at least there was hope that the fight would end if I got hit.

But Rose was different. Her attacks were pure martial arts.

If I got hit, I’d definitely be captured.

I wouldn’t be detained for long, but if my helmet was removed, Hayun would surely find out.

Plus, I had shown my face to these two once before.

93 percent.

I could feel cold sweat inside my helmet.

From the corner of my vision, I saw a combatant stirring. The Earthaboo? She was slowly crawling toward Rose.

Seriously?

“Mmph!”

The researcher on my shoulder struggled. Did he think there was hope for escape?

…Alright.

There was only one way out anyway.

There had always been only one.

“Let’s go!” shouted the team leader as he ran.

He was a bit slower than usual, probably because of the researcher on his shoulder.

A white beam appeared, and the team leader rolled on the ground.

“I won’t make the same mistake as last time,” said Iris coldly, raising her gun toward the team leader who was screaming but getting back up.

Today it wasn’t a warp bullet.

This was a hostage rescue mission.

Beep beep beep!

96 percent.

My heart was racing madly.

I ran forward.

A white beam flew toward me. It was a thin, split beam, as if she was being careful not to hit the researcher.

Fortunately, I could block this much without a battery.

“Ugh!”

Though it still hurt.

“Where do you think you’re going!” Rose charged at me.

But the Earthaboo grabbed Rose’s foot.

“What—”

While Rose was momentarily confused, I ran past her.

Iris’s beam came at me again. This time I used a battery to block it perfectly. But I couldn’t reload the battery since both my hands were occupied.

Besides the team leader, another combatant was running with a researcher.

Iris aimed at him, and another beam shot out. The researcher screamed through his gag and fell to the ground, but his fall suddenly slowed. It was Iris’s magic.

Whoosh.

Iris turned toward me with a flourish of her skirt. Floating in the air, her movements were as smooth as if she were dancing.

I rolled forward, trying my best to protect the researcher. I didn’t want the hostage to get hurt.

I let go of the researcher mid-roll and got up after tumbling a few times.

Thud!

I heard the sound of a fist hitting the Earthaboo’s helmet, who had grabbed Rose’s leg.

Part of the helmet broke, revealing the Earthaboo’s face. She collapsed on the ground.

98 percent.

I extended my blade.

This time, instead of retreating, I charged forward—directly at Iris.

Iris calmly aimed at me, as if she had expected this.

She took precise aim and—

fired.

“…Gasp!”

I barely managed to block it by loading a battery mid-way, but I couldn’t completely absorb the impact.

Ping!

I saw a fuse ejecting from Iris’s rifle.

It was a different type than usual.

I see.

The reason for putting a fuse in a gun is to control its power. If it’s too strong, the gun can’t handle it. One mistake could turn you into a killer.

Iris had changed that fuse.

To one that could subdue me for certain.

There was no smile on her face.

99 percent.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

A piercing sound filled my ears.

I heard the sound of air being cut beside me.

As I quickly turned and swung my blade,

“Oops.”

Rose flipped into the air with an incredibly light movement.

Our eyes met as Rose was upside-down.

Thud!

Rose’s fist flew at me after she nimbly jumped to avoid the blade’s trajectory. I barely managed to minimize the impact by pulling back, but my head was spinning.

BOOM!

Right after that, I used a new battery to release an explosion of energy. Not a blade, but more like a shotgun blast.

“Ugh!?”

The impact seemed to affect Rose, as she staggered slightly when her feet touched the ground.

I rolled on the ground. A laser hit where I had just been standing. Boom—part of the house was destroyed.

“What is this…!”

The woman who had tried to hit me at school had come outside, probably woken by the fighting.

“Uh, ma’am, please go back inside—”

Before she could finish, I dove into Rose’s arms.

I swung my blade.

Rose was a bit surprised but easily dodged.

“Be careful,” said Iris.

“Unlike other combatants, this one charges in even when alone.”

Click.

Another fuse was loaded into the gun.

As I dodged Rose’s fist, I wondered why she had inserted a new fuse.

She hadn’t fired enough shots to empty a magazine. If it had been pre-loaded, she could have fired up to five shots easily.

…Was the fuse a special type?

I couldn’t tell at a glance. But if it was slightly different in length and couldn’t fit into the gun’s internal magazine—

Thwack.

Rose’s shin hit my back.

I fell forward, skidding across the ground. The grass where I had passed was completely overturned, exposing the dirt. I heard someone screaming from inside the house.

I tried to get up again.

100 percent.

But I couldn’t move my arms. The circuit was still running.

A desperate situation. That was probably why the circuit kept running.

But even with auxiliary power, it was meaningless if the body it was supporting had no strength.

I heard footsteps.

“This is what happens when you rely too much on devices—you end up in crisis at crucial moments.”

“Don’t you think those gauntlets are more than just ‘devices’? If it weren’t for this weirdo, I wouldn’t be in this situation.”

My heart was racing madly. The pain hit me belatedly. I felt like I might cry.

As I stretched out my arm and began to crawl, their conversation continued.

“This is a bit pitiful.”

“Pitiful? They’re just a combatant for an evil corporation.”

100 percent.

“Finally, we’ll see your face. Don’t worry too much. You’re skilled, so we might hire you after you spill your information.”

“I’m serious about that. We’re kind of short-staffed.”

…Did they think my fate was in their hands?

They were right. In just a moment, my identity would be completely exposed.

And surely, Hayun would also—

100 percent.

BEEP BEEP BEEP—

———.

Suddenly, the sound in my helmet cut off. As if it had malfunctioned.

100 percent—

0 percent.

Now, it’s over…

1 percent.

The circuit was getting hot.

Hearing something spinning wildly, I looked at my wrist and saw a compass needle spinning madly.

The needle spinning counterclockwise seemed to have lost its function.

Sparks were flying.

It looked extremely dangerous by any measure.

I got up.

“…What?”

Rose sounded a bit confused.

I raised my left hand, which was making crackling sounds, and swung it toward Rose. The blade was much longer than usual. Long and shaped like it was burning.

Rose, seeing this and thinking it dangerous to get hit, ducked—

And my knee was heading toward her face.

Rose blocked the knee strike with both hands but jumped back to retreat.

She was looking at her hands.

And those hands were trembling slightly, perhaps from the impact.

Rose looked at me with a confused expression.

That’s right.

You’ve always won, haven’t you?

It’s understandable that you wouldn’t know.

None of the magical girls had bottom-of-the-barrel lives. They were at least middle class, or even corporate chairman’s granddaughters.

From the beginning, you’ve never really been hit properly, have you?

A white light rose from behind.

Pain shot through my body.

I turned around.

There stood Iris with a shocked expression.

I had taken the beam head-on.

Part of my suit had burst. My skin wasn’t exposed yet, but it was still a dangerous state.

But I remained standing.

It was incredibly fortunate that my helmet hadn’t broken.

2 percent.

Crackle, crackle.

The circuit was reaching its limit. Soon it would break completely and become meaningless.

A black, sticky substance was slowly dripping from around the circuit. I wasn’t sure what it was. But seeing how it discolored the grass, it probably wasn’t good.

Something tar-like and sticky, as if drawn from the very bottom of human emotions.

…

What would Hayun think if she saw me like this?

I’m scared.

3 percent.

But still.

Still—

I felt like I couldn’t bear it if I didn’t land at least one hit on these two.